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Constance Woodrow
by George J. Dance Constance Davies Woodrow (June 2, 1899 - August 1, 1937) was an English-born Canadian poet.Woodrow, Constance Davies, Canada's Early Women Writers, Simon Fraser University, SFU.ca, Web, Apr. 28, 2012. Life Woodrow was born Constance Isabel Davies, in Liverpool, England, to Sarah (Knowles) and John Robert Davies. She was educated at the University of LiverpoolF. She came to Canada in her early 20s. On August 15, 2924, she married George Merritt Woodrow,Marriage Records for Constance Davies and George Woodrow, Ancestry.ca. Web, Apr. 30, 2015. an artist and illustrator. She worked as assistant editor of The Reading Lamp, managing editor of the Canadian Bookman, and director of publicity for Macmillan of Canada. John Coldwell Adams, a biographer of Charles G.D. Roberts, has written that Roberts was "infatuated" with her for a time in the mid-1920s, and described her as "a young married poet in Toronto, who rhapsodized about her 'Celtic Heart' and who appears to have been an outrageous flirt. Outwardly, she possessed all those characteristics that Roberts admired most, but in temperament she was quixotic and unpredictable. Although she shamelessly led him on from the moment she met him, the inconstant Constance inevitably turned her attentions elsewhere after a few months."John Coldwell Adams, "More Letters for the Roberts Collection," Studies in Canadian Literature / Etudes en litterature Canadienne, University of New Brunswick, UNB.ca, Web, Apr. 28, 2012. Roberts wrote a brief Introduction to her debut collection of poetry, The Captive Gypsy (1926). In the late 1920s and early 1930s she published 4 more volumes of verse, and translated a novel by Georges Bugnet. Her own debut novel was accepted for publication by L. Carrier, but was not published when the company went bankrupt during the Depression. During the 1930s she was manager of Britnell's, at the time Toronto's most prestigious bookstore.Woodrow, Constance (1899-1937), Representative Poetry Online, University of Toronto, UToronto.ca, Web, Dec. 26, 2011. She also edited her own magazine of reviews, The Caravan. Writing *Charles G.D. Roberts: "It is a pleasure to associate myself with this modest collection of poems by Constance Davies-Woodrow. Among the qualities to be looked for in all poetry those of sincerity, simplicity and candour always make a particular appeal to me. Equally essential, according to my own artistic faith, are music in phrase and cadence, the quest of beauty in both thought and form, and conscientious workmanship. These qualities seem to me to characterize, in no small measure, the poems here gathered; and they make the little book a refreshing protest against the defiance of sound technique, the mistaking of violence for strength and of ugliness for originality, which mark so much of our contemporary verse. Authentic emotions, expressed with such brave directness, yet with a grace so persuasive, should carry these brief lyrics into the hearts of many readers."Charles G.D. Roberts, Introduction, The Captive Gypsy, Canadian Poetry, Canadian Poetry Press. Web, Apr. 17, 2014. Recognition Her poem "Defeat" was set to music for a capella chorus by composer Ty Kroll in 2004."Between the grey," The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive, Emily Ezust, RecMusic.org, Web, Dec. 26, 2011. Publications Poetry *''The Captive Gypsy. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1926. *''Immortality. Toronto: Balk-Preston, 1928. *''The Celtic Heart. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1929. *''Pierrette to Pierrot: A Group of Love Lyrics. Toronto: Tower, 1929. *''Captive, and other poems.'' Toronto: Tower, 1930. *''Selections from "Sonnets to Gabriel". Toronto: Age Press, 1931. *''Three Selections from "April Night". Toronto: privately published, 1935. Juvenile *''The Children's Caravan'' (poetry). Toronto: Balk-Preston, 1928. Translated *Bugnet, Georges. Nipsya. New York & London: L. Carrier, 1929. Except where noted, bibliographical information coutesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Constance Woodrow, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Apr. 17, 2014. Poems by Constance Woodrow #Defeat See also *List of Canadian poets References External links ;Poems *"Defeat" *"Last Hour" *"Immortality" *[Woodrow, Constance (1899-1937) (4 poems) at Representative Poetry Online *Constance Woodrow Poems ;Books *Constance Davies Woodrow at Amazon.com ;About *Woodrow, Constance Davies at Canada's Early Women Writers, Simon Fraser University Category:1899 births Category:1937 deaths Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:Canadian poets Category:Canadian women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets Category:Canadian translators Category:Translators to English Category:People from Liverpool